setting to only count active playtime and not the game running in the background?

[constantendless]

i've been considering getting back into the game but i don't want to end up with it topping my steam library as if i've spent months sitting there clicking on the cookie when i've just had it in the background while doing other stuff. is there a way i can set the game to only track the playtime when i actually have the window up playing the game? or is my only option for that to grind out to max the ascension upgrades so i can generate at full potential while the game is closed?

[Belle Delphine Targaryen!]

No way to do that. It sucks when people discredit my opinions by mentioning I have 7K hours in this game.

Like MF, I run the game in the background 24/7!

[IFIYGD]

The only way to do this is to only play in Steam Client offline mode (and I am not sure if this game allows for offline mode play).
If Steam Client is online, it will count all of the time the .exe is running.
In Steam Client offline mode, Steam does not see the hours being played, it only launches the game for you. But it also means that any game that needs an internet connection to play- can't be played. So it may affect your ability to play anything else at the same time, and the hours for any other games you play while offline will also not have playtime counted.
If you want to see if the game runs in offline mode- click "Steam" in the upper left corner of your screen, scroll down the drop-down menu, and click "Go offline" and try to launch the game.